Plastic pill organizers are often supplied to geriatric patients. They are formed with multiple compartments, and a cover closing the assembly. A nurse might typically prepare a week's supply of pills in advance, placing each day's allotment of pills into a separate compartment. One problem is that patients can readily lose track of the number of pills taken, consuming pills at inappropriate intervals. Another problem is the potential to take pills from different compartments, further frustrating orderly consumption of pills.
Dispensers for birth control pills allow systematic dispensing. Many have a two-part housing. A lower part defines multiple single-dose compartments in a circular arrangement. The upper part is a lid that rotates on the lower part. A detent mechanism aligns an opening in the lid successively with each compartment for pill removal. Such dispensers may provide an indication of the day at which a particular pill is to be taken. They are fairly reliable, since absence of the single pill from any compartment immediately indicates that the daily dosage has been taken. However, they do not address problems associated with organizing and properly dispensing multiple daily doses.